Reasons for stepping down: “Are they purely health-related?” The sensational announcement was made yesterday evening by a member of the Presidency of the Socialist Party TIRANË—“Servet Pëllumbi will resign at the party Congress.” The sensational declaration was also made making it seem that the much-discussed chapter of the withdrawal from party leadership by one of the most influential figures in socialist politics has finally been closed. Socialist leader Pëllumbi himself also seems not to have hesitated to acknowledge this in another way. “I have an elected mandate for four years,” he told Gazeta Shqiptare yesterday, “but at the party Congress everyone’s mandate is up for election.” Pëllumbi’s resignation from his post as deputy chairman of the largest opposition party—already foreshadowed by officials within the upper echelons of the leadership—will be submitted by him on the grounds of purely health-related reasons. At the same time, it is emphasized that there is no political obligation compelling the oldest leader in the Socialist Party to step down from heading the party, which he has led for nearly four years. “But he will not leave the party,” the member of the PS leadership “brain trust” explained to the newspaper. Crossword superfinal On page 6 Business with visas:

“They beat their colleagues who were being held in the cells” TIRANË—More arrests of Military Police officers. The three servicemen were arrested the day before yesterday after three of their colleagues reported them for using violence in the cells of the Garrison in Tiranë. The colleagues had been detained by the Military Prosecutor’s Office in connection with investigations into the disappearance of a quantity of ammunition from the Korçë Division. On page 5

The PD at the table with parties outside Parliament TIRANË—The superpower of Albanian politics is extending a hand to 16 small parties across the political spectrum. “The existing law on elections for local government is generally a law of European standard, which guarantees free and fair elections. Nevertheless, Parliament is being advised to review all the time limits in this law in order to improve the electoral process,” said representatives of the parties participating in the round-table organized by the Democratic Party. A meeting which, it seems, has given a major boost to the hopes of the small parties, so that they too can have a voice in shaping the political situation emerging from the local elections in Albania. On page 3 The parties’ meeting

ELBASAN—A fraudster and police employee—but he ended up in handcuffs. He had promised them he would obtain visas for the West—naturally, in exchange for payment—but he had not been able to “tesante” ne? embassy. A number of residents of Elbasan had fallen victim to this scheme and had notified the police. Initial investigations had led to serious suspicions of fraud and, as a result, the prosecutor’s office issued an arrest warrant. Selim Beqiri, from Elbasan, was detained in recent days by law-enforcement officers, accused of fraud through abuse of his position. Beqiri is a local leader of a nationalist party, and his public role had helped him appear trustworthy in the eyes of his victims. In exchange for payment, he promised to secure tourist visas for them to travel to the West. But Beqiri was not just an amateur at this. He had added the positions of manager of a travel agency and a press worker to his “career.” His victims include a large number of citizens from Elbasan, as well as from other cities. They paid considerable sums of money, but were unable to obtain the promised visas. Some police officers were also among Beqiri’s victims. Their grievances “knocked” on the prosecutor’s office doors, and investigations began immediately. After investigators established that the fraud had been committed, a court arrest warrant led to Beqiri being taken into custody. He must now face the charge of fraud through abuse of position. The report does not state how many people he deceived, nor the amount of money he unjustly obtained.

Now testimony is being heard in court as well TIRANA—Witnesses to the killing of two police officers are giving statements before the judges. In the investigation into the attack on the Neziri brothers, the prosecution has requested the application of a new procedure: taking statements in court in order to ensure that evidence is secured. Around 20 witnesses have given their statements before the judges; according to legal experts, these statements constitute evidence for the investigative body. The taking of evidence in court is provided for under the new legal procedures, etc.? which came into force in January of last year and is very rarely used in investigative practice. These witnesses will no longer need to testify in the courtroom; at the hearing on the killing of the police officers, they will appear before the judges. On page 3

BERAT Investigation into a baby abandoned in a toilet On page 5

KAKAVIJE Greek handcuffs for drug traffickers On page 5

VLORË Gunfire near the residence: one injured On page 5

They charge them five times the tax Kakavijë, French tourists turn back in protest KAKAVIJE—Customs police at Kakavijë are stealing from French tourists. Instead of the five dollars they were supposed to pay as a fee to cross the customs point, they were asked to pay five times that amount. Just a few hundred metres inside the Albanian border, the French tourists learned they had been cheated and, in protest, cut their trip short and turned back, demanding their money. “You have to pay 25 dollars per person if you want to enter Albania.” That is what several officers at the Kakavijë border crossing told a group of four French tourists who arrived in the morning. They paid and, after booking a taxi, set off towards Gjirokastër. Their plan was to stay in Albania for a few days and then leave for Montenegro. But after only a few minutes of travel, the French tourists realized they had been cheated. Their Albanian escort explained that they should have paid only five dollars per person; the rest had ended up in the pockets of police officers. Angered, the French tourists turned back and argued with the police. Afraid that their superiors might find out about the incident, the officers returned the money they had taken through deception, but the French tourists refused to continue their trip in Albania and set off towards Greece. Naturally, they were left with a bitter impression of the Albanian state and the people who uphold the law here. Al. Pe.

Old documents shake the foundations of the soft-drink giant But the judges will decide in September TIRANË—“Coca-Cola” is not on secure footing. The land on which the soft-drink giant has laid its foundations appears to belong to someone else. A Tirana family has sued the Property Restitution Commission in court over its decision to grant this land to the producers of the dark drink. Meanwhile, proceedings have also begun in the administrative court to examine the documents through which the former owner claims to have bought an area of 10 hectares, including the plot belonging to “Cola.” On page 5 The Coca-Cola factory

The Balkan festival now in Tiranë On page 4

Albanians also in the talks on Kosovo On page 2

Today and tomorrow the Albanian Cup Today and tomorrow Albanian Cup TIRANA—Today, the second-round matches of the first round of the Albanian football cup are being played. However, three qualifiers will be determined on Sunday and Monday. This concerns three one-year teams at Partizani seri she bar debhlu-te. No problem between the two clubs, although the final details will be determined only on Monday. On page 7

On page 5